LONDON, ENGLAND.-The Art Fund has awarded a grant of £15,000 towards a unique piece of the nation’s sporting history. The Goodwood Cup - won by a fleet-footed horse called Rockingham in 1835 - has been purchased for £70,000 by English Heritage, ensuring the trophy will continue to take pride of place on display at Brodsworth Hall’s opulent 19th-century dining room. Additional funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Goodwood Cup was bought from the estate of the late Ronald Williams, who was linked through marriage to the family which once owned Brodsworth. Made by the great English silversmith, Paul Storr, the cup features an Arab man and horse and is as much a work of art as a sporting trophy. Together with 940 sovereigns, the cup was won at Goodwood Racecourse, Sussex, by Rockingham’s owner John Theobald, a self-made businessman who earned a fortune in the London drapery and hosiery trades.

Theobald’s love of racing gained him access to high society, despite his lowly origins. He had the largest commercial stud in England. One horse he bred was later owned by Charles Thellusson, father of Charles Sabine Thellusson, builder of the present Brodsworth Hall. Sporting ties led to friendship and then to nuptials as the two families tied the knot with the marriage of Charles Sabine to John Theobald’s grand-daughter, Georgiana, who was set to inherit his vast fortune. The match was timely for the Thellussons. They were glad of her money as they awaited the outcome of a long-running legal dispute over a will. In return the Theobald family rose in society by marrying into the landed gentry.

Georgiana bought Theobald’s fine collection of equestrian and 17th-century paintings to Brodsworth to adorn the new hall. Today a portrait of John Theobald still hangs in the dining room.

David Barrie, Director of the Art Fund, said: ‘The Art Fund is delighted to have helped Brodsworth Hall acquire this highly-appropriate sporting trophy. It has a fascinating history and sits very well indeed with the Hall’s other prized treasures’.

English Heritage Curator, Crosby Stevens, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to our funding partners for enabling us to buy the Goodwood Cup. This acquisition is part of our policy of securing the long-term future of the Hall’s prized treasures. Brodsworth is one of the few country houses in England with most of its original 19th-century contents intact. That makes it a very special place, with each individual piece telling its own story.

‘Tracing the cup’s association with Brodsworth Hall is itself a journey through the lives and loves of wealthy Victorian society. We have worked with local volunteers to piece together the story and the fruits of this research are showcased by the exhibition’.

Fiona Spiers, Regional Manager for HLF in Yorkshire and Humber, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to support this project, which has ensured that the Goodwood Cup will remain at the Hall to be appreciated by many generations to come. It has also allowed new audiences to learn about the cup and its history through exciting volunteer opportunities, interpretation facilities and activities. The cup represents an important aspect of Doncaster’s heritage, which is integral to the identity of local people.’